What is an Antioxidant?

"Antioxidant" is a general term for any compound that can counteract unstable molecules called free radicals that damage DNA, cell membranes, and other parts of cells. Because free radicals lack a full complement of electrons, they steal electrons from other molecules and damage those molecules in the process.

Antioxidants are substances that can prevent or slow damage to cells caused by free radicals, unstable molecules that the body produces as a reaction to environmental and other pressures. They are sometimes called “free-radical scavengers.”

Free radicals are waste substances produced by cellular metabolism. If the body cannot process and remove free radicals efficiently, oxidative stress can result. This can harm cells and body function. Free radicals are also known as reactive oxygen species (ROS). Factors that increase the production of free radicals in the body can be internal, such as inflammation, or external, for example, pollution, UV exposure, and cigarette smoke.

Oxidative stress has been linked to heart disease, cancer, arthritis, stroke, respiratory diseases, immune deficiency, emphysema, Parkinson’s disease, and other inflammatory or ischemic conditions.

Antioxidants neutralize free radicals by giving up some of their own electrons and acting as a natural "off" switch for the free radicals. This helps break a chain reaction that can affect other molecules in the cell and other cells in the body. It is important to recognize that the term "antioxidant" reflects a chemical property rather than a specific nutritional property. 

History of Antioxidants

It’s not really known who first “discovered” antioxidants. Antioxidants have been dated in medical literature to the early 19th and 20th centuries, but researchers and health experts have been discussing them for much longer. Each antioxidant has its own unique history of discovery. Some, such as vitamin C and vitamin E, were first researched by doctors, such as Henry A. Mattill during the 1920s–1950s, and was an explanation as to why animals fed whole foods lived longer and remained healthier. 

Joe McCord is credited with discovering the function of antioxidant enzymes like superoxide dismutase, mostly by mistake, and noting how all organisms held these beneficial compounds inside their bodies but less so as they aged. 

Antioxidants came to public attention in the 1990s when scientists began to understand that free radical damage was involved in the early stages of artery-clogging atherosclerosis. It was also linked to cancer, vision loss, and a host of other chronic conditions.

 The body produces antioxidants, known as endogenous antioxidants. Antioxidants that come from outside the body are called exogenous. The sources of antioxidants can be natural or artificial. Certain plant-based foods are thought to be rich in antioxidants. Plant-based antioxidants are a kind of phytonutrient or plant-based nutrient.

Antioxidants are found primarily in plants and when consumed protect us from damaging free radicals and oxidative stress. Decades of research suggest a diet full of antioxidant-rich foods protects us from disease. Food sources rich in vitamin E, vitamin C, beta carotene, selenium, and phytochemicals provide us with antioxidants. A simple strategy to increase your antioxidants is to eat an abundance of colorful plants every day.

Five tips that can help increase your antioxidant intake:

1. Include a fruit or a vegetable every time you eat, meals and snacks included.

2. Have a cup of green or matcha tea every day.

3. Look at the colors on your plate. If your food is mostly brown or beige, the antioxidant levels are likely to be low. Add in foods with rich colors, such as kale, beets, and berries.

4. Use turmeric, cumin, oregano, ginger, clove, and cinnamon to spice up the flavor and antioxidant content of your meals.

5. Snack on nuts, seeds, especially Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, and dried fruit, but choose those with no added sugar or salt.

ORAC Value

The level of antioxidants in any substance or food is evaluated with an ORAC score, which stands for “oxygen radical absorption capacity”. ORAC refers to the power of a particular antioxidant or food to absorb and eliminate free radicals. These measurements were developed by the National Institute of Aging and are based on 100 grams of each food or herb. The higher the score, the more powerful the food is an antioxidant. There is no “official” daily recommended intake of ORAC units, various researchers suggest an optimal intake to be 3000-5000 ORAC units per day, and the USDA recommends a suggested intake of 5000 ORAC units per day.

Most common fruits, vegetables, and herbs in a healthy diet contain antioxidants such as vitamin E, lutein, vitamin C, beta-carotene, flavonoids, and lycopene. While there is currently no official recommended daily allowance for antioxidants or antioxidant foods, generally speaking, the more you consume each day from real foods in your diet the better.

Given our fast-paced lives, maintaining a healthy diet can be very difficult. According to a recent American Family Physicians report, 60% of children don’t eat enough fruit and 93% don’t eat enough vegetables to satisfy daily recommendations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report only one in ten adults get enough fruits and vegetables in their daily diet. Our daily self-care routine in our home to fill in our nutritional gaps is to supplement our diets with whole food nutritional supplements such as Nikken’s Jade Greenzymes, Kenzen Ciaga, and Kenzen Total Vegan Drink Mix to ensure that we are getting enough fruits and vegetables daily.

Kenzen Jade Greenzymes

Called "nature's perfect food," barley grass is said to have more nutrition than an equal serving of any other vegetable. Nikken’s organic Jade Greenzymes are rich in functional ingredients, such as gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), flavonoids, saponarin, lutonarin, superoxide dismutase (SOD), tryptophan, chlorophyll, dietary fiber, polysaccharide, alkaloid, metallothioneins, polyphenols, and eight essential amino acids. Barley Grass Juice powder has been shown to strengthen the immune system, alkalinize the body, increase energy, aid digestion, relieve constipation, and improve the health of skin, hair, and nails.

Kenzen Super Ciaga

Kenzen Super Ciaga Powder is a delicious, convenient, and cost-effective way for us to get our daily fruit requirements. Kenzen Super Ciaga has only 10 calories per serving. This advanced formula is made with a select group of superfruits chosen for their nutrient-density and immune-boosting characteristics. It combines an organic superfruit mix of elderberry, maqui berry, blackberry, and blueberry for their anthocyanins and high antioxidant content, with an ORAC value of 5,000. This superfruit antioxidant mix is naturally sweetened with organic monk fruit which is super sweet and has no calories.

Kenzen Total Vegan Drink Mix

Kenzen Total Vegan Drink Mix (KTVDM) ranks a perfect 10 on the balanced nutrition scale. Each serving of KTVDM contains 3 servings of the daily recommendation for vegetables and 1 serving of the daily recommendation for fruit. Eating vegetables provides many health benefits. People who eat more vegetables as part of an overall healthy diet are likely to have a reduced risk of some chronic diseases. Vegetables provide nutrients vital for the health and maintenance of your body. KTVDM helps to fill in our nutritional gaps at only 20 calories per serving, less than $2 a day per serving, with a great chocolaty taste.

Hydrogen is a tasteless, colorless, and odorless gas. When added to water, it becomes hydrogen water, hydrogenated water, or hydrogenized water. Regardless of which naming convention is used, studies have shown that hydrogen water supports cellular energy production and provides antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

PiMag® PiDrogen Hydrogen Generator

Another recent way to get antioxidant effects is to drink hydrogenated water. Hydrogen water has been popular for several years in Japan and many researchers have reported positive effects on health. Many of these studies and others have been cited at the Molecular Hydrogen Institute.

Nikken recently introduced a new product. The PiMag® PiDrogen Hydrogen Generator. It is a mini generator accompanied by its own 16 oz / 475 ml glass bottle. The PiMag® PiDrogen supplies an abundance of antioxidants in order to assist in relieving oxidative stress and to help bring the body back into balance, supporting the maintenance of Active Wellness.   More on the PiMag® PiDrogen Hydrogen Generator later.

A healthy diet rich in antioxidants or whole food supplementation like the products mentioned above can help you be Be Healthy by Choice.